Continuing in our ongoing set of interviews with leaders of Charleston’s constellation of civic-minded organizations, this week’s blog features Charleston native Winslow Hastie, Chief Preservation Officer of Historic Charleston Foundation (HCF).
Some people may think of Historic Charleston Foundation as it relates to historic preservation and the Charleston peninsula, but it seems HCF has gotten involved with some of the larger issues of the region, such as transportation. Can you touch on how your organization’s focus or mission relates to the question of livability for the larger Charleston region? The field of historic preservation has become much more interdisciplinary and multi-faceted over the last couple of decades. The focus has shifted away from merely saving individual buildings (though we still work on that!) towards larger, more complex issues related to livability, urban design, smart growth, and sustainability. The vibrant historic environment of Charleston does not operate in a vacuum, obviously. So many disparate elements affect its long-term health, and HCF has risen to the occasion to address the evolving needs of the community.
It is also important to emphasize that our mission explicitly states that the organization is tasked with preserving and protecting the cultural character of Charleston and its Lowcountry environs. We are not just peninsula-focused. Our reach extends throughout the Lowcountry. More recently, we have been engaged in work focused on the urban-rural edges of our region where tensions have arisen over the appropriateness of development extending further into our rural hinterlands. This includes areas such as Cainhoy, the historic Ashley River corridor, and John’s Island. The need for advocacy in these areas comes from the incredible growth that our region has seen in the last couple of decades.
In terms of our focus on transportation and mobility, that grew out of a strategic planning process that Historic Charleston went through in 2013. We basically looked at every major livability/planning issue in the region, and quickly determined that transportation was the lowest common denominator linking them all. So: let’s focus on that! We recognize that we are not going to “solve” this problem, but we did feel that HCF was in a unique position to frame the issue and bring a diverse set of stakeholders to the table.
Transportation is a huge, complex problem that is going to require the vision and resources of many different groups in the private, non-profit, and public sectors. It is, of course, a regional issue, but we are hoping to help the peninsula lead the discussion and hopefully inspire our neighbors in the tri-county area to help the entire community come up with a sustainable path for the future. The good thing is that no one debates whether or not transportation is a regional priority! Progressive change has to happen one way or another — we’re just hoping that it happens sooner and is done in a fairly coordinated way.
Question 2: Since it is how we frame our conversation, and to put you on the spot, is there something specific that you would do “…if You were Mayor?” Our current focus on setting priorities for a new administration is fairly simple. Over the last few years Charleston has been forced to really analyze many of the issues that relate to explosive growth and our increasing appeal as a major international tourist destination. In this amazing city of engaged citizens, we have no shortage of vision; and we love to express our perspectives and hopes for the future at public hearings, workshops, and visioning sessions. On occasion our collective vision has been collated and distilled into a variety of plans focusing on particular issues or geographic areas of the city.
We already have the:
More recently, Historic Charleston Foundation has been working with the city of Charleston and other community partners on several plans that we think should shape the priorities for a new mayoral administration. These plans include the Peninsula Mobility Report prepared in November of 2014 by transportation expert Gabe Klein. This report states simply: “Charleston must decrease driving and parking while increasing use of public transit, cycling, and walking.” This sounds easy, but turning this statement into reality will require a very significant outlay of public investment in infrastructure for transit and complete streets.
Recently proposed updates to the Tourism Management Plan resulted from a large community effort involving a very engaged Committee and many public meetings over the past year. As tourism has grown substantially over the last decade, it clearly was time for a comprehensive assessment of all aspects of tourism and how it impacts the livability of the city. Great ideas are included in this report, such as creating remote parking and a new Visitor’s Center on the upper Peninsula, but just talking about it won’t suffice.
Also, in the coming months, there will be a report by well-known architect and urban planner Andres Duany concerning the design review process and the Board of Architectural Review. As we are seeing such a huge influx of new development in Charleston, the design and quality of these buildings is of the utmost importance. Historic Charleston Foundation is co-sponsoring this plan with the City, and the report will be completed by this summer.
As is typical with any plan, they are only as valuable as our commitment to bringing them to fruition. Their implementation will require a combination of non-profit advocacy, private sector engagement, and the political will of our leaders. Plans that merely sit on the shelf reflect a lack of ambition and true vision in a community, and at this point in Charleston’s history, we cannot afford that.
It will be very tempting for any future mayoral administration to flex its muscle and try to put its fingerprints on new plans and new priorities — however, it is critical for the new Mayor to understand the importance of all the plans that already exist. We have a strong tradition of proactive engagement and community foresight, so we all need to step up to the plate to turn our progressive vision represented in these many great plans into a reality. That’s what I would do if I were Mayor!
Alexis Stephens of the on-line magazine Next City featured a recent interview with Stan Humphries, chief economist of Zillow, about the current climate of homeownership and rental housing in the US. In that interview Mr. Humphries indicated that the homeownership rate has been consistent, at slightly less than two-thirds, since the 1960s. For the third that rent, he states, “…it is probably a rational strategy given our income profiles, our ages, how mobile we are, etc.”
Mr. Humphries goes on, however, “…I’m deeply concerned that renting…is no longer affordable….[R]ight now, according to our numbers, renting has never been less affordable in this country….” The shift in the 80s and 90s toward private provision of housing, stimulated by low-income tax credits and Section 8 subsidies has not filled the need.
Mr. Humphries’ concern resonates among those who are advocating for more affordable housing in Charleston. The downtown area is especially susceptible to high rental rates due to the pressures associated with the rapid growth and real estate development in the region. Michelle Mapp, Executive Director of the South Carolina Community Loan Fund, was very eloquent in her recent presentation during the forum A Vision for Charleston: Priorities for the Next Mayoral Administration. She introduced the audience to “5-year old Jordan” who “lives in the Silver Hill Neighborhood in Charleston’s Neck – a neighborhood scattered with dilapidated houses, no easy access to a full service grocery store, no daycare or health center, and no local, community-based businesses in which her family can buy goods and services.
“… Ask yourselves, ‘Can we be content knowing that Charleston took home Travel & Leisure‘s top honor for favorite North American City and #2 City in the World…, yet 1 in 4 of our children are living in poverty? How is it that the very workers that are the foundation of our tourism-based economy, like Jordan’s Mom and Dad, far too often cannot find an affordable place to live in our city and we oppose, often through our silence, every attempt to provide them with safe, decent, and affordable housing options?’ At its essence, these are economic development questions.
“The question is do we have the political will to counter NIMBY [Not In My Backyard], enact innovative planning and zoning policies, and advocate for both public and private investment to support the development of affordable housing at a magnitude and scale to meet all of our community’s needs? This may not be the popular stance, but it is the right stance.”
Not only is it the “right” stance in terms of overall community values. As Mr. Humphries stated, regarding a certain complacency among homeowners who are “…lulled into a false sense of confidence, thinking, ‘That’s a problem for some other group. Not me.’ It’s a problem for everyone, because today’s renters are tomorrow’s buyers.”
The Urban Land Institute (ULI) in its January/February 2015 issue of Urban Land lays out several strategies for creating the conditions for private development of affordable housing in its overview article recapping a recent meeting of its Affordable/Workforce Housing Council. Some strategies brought up in the discussion included: realignment of state low-income housing tax credits to reflect more appropriate housing configurations, smaller unit sizes in urban areas, reducing parking requirements to better reflect the resident requirements/needs, creating more efficient unit layouts, property tax exemptions, and partnering with organizations who own land that can be developed, such as churches, school districts, and housing authorities.
Another article in this same issue features some excellent strategies, as offered by San Francisco architect David Baker, for creating community in and around affordable housing development. It is worth a read. Take some notes since many of these ideas can translate into market-rate projects as well.
If you are looking for a way to explore this idea further, consider looking into the How Housing Matters website, a project of the Urban Land Institute made possible through the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Affordable housing is a huge issue so expect us to do a deeper dive into this topic in the near future. Building and keeping housing affordable in urban areas is a real challenge but it plays a key role in fostering a city’s livability. Support affordable workforce housing, and you will find your community has better teachers, law enforcement officers, fire fighters, and a whole range of people and their families who contribute in ways that positively impact us all.
While technically the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art is part of the College of Charleston, it plays a significant role in Charleston’s vibrant art scene. Mark Sloan has overseen more than 100 exhibitions (plus an annual Young Contemporaries exhibit that features a curated collection of work by CofC students) during his 20-year stint as Chief Curator and Director.
Mark, we’ll began our conversation with the organization’s mission and how that relates to making the arts an important part of life (and livability) in Charleston.
The mission was developed over several months, so I really need to share it in its entirety:
The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston School of the Arts provides a multidisciplinary laboratory for the production, presentation, interpretation, and dissemination of ideas by innovative visual artists from around the world. As a non-collecting museum, we create meaningful interactions between adventurous artists and diverse communities within a context that emphasizes the historical, social, and cultural importance of the art of our time.
Whew! I know that sounds like a lofty set of goals, but it does establish how we, the School, the College, and our Advisory Board, see the Halsey in the ecology of Charleston’s primary art institutions – including the Gibbes Museum of Art, City Gallery at Waterfront Park, and Redux Studios. We’ve established a distinct niche for our academic museum, hosting emerging, overlooked, and often under-represented artists. Every exhibition includes a range of events and educational opportunities – most free and open to the public – including film and video, publications, lectures, and artists-in-schools.
We try to emphasize the footprint of the College within the city, especially given that the Halsey is really many people’s portal into the entire institution, both literally – with our windows on one of the busiest blocks on Calhoun Street – and, figuratively – since one does not typically march into a biology class on campus. Not only do we function for Charlestonians in this way, but we are also a unique arts destination for visitors to Charleston, offering distinct, often challenging, work from unexpected sources.
Mark, I’ve known you to be very generous with your expertise and guidance to other area arts organizations, and you’ve been a willing participant in collaborative efforts. Along those lines, what would you do if you were “Mayor?”
At the Halsey we have found that students, patrons, and staff all benefit from being unafraid to ask the “big questions,” and this has meant that we have been able to show unusual, challenging, and often experimental work. We need to cultivate Charleston artists that are empowered to explore their own passions and questions in precisely this kind of work; and foster their efforts so they can also flourish and find success in Charleston and elsewhere. Establishing an infrastructure of best practices, including resources such as legal and accounting advice, can help guide artists’ careers so they might be unburdened by some of these realities.
We can meet our cultural aspirations if we are willing to collaborate effectively, eliminate redundancies, and encourage efforts that provide a mutual benefit between our institutions, organizations, artists, students, and Charleston residents. The arts can be a plan for life, inspiring individuals and cities with the knowledge that the future will require significant reservoirs of creativity and innovation to ensure our continued success.
Ever consider how culture can shape a neighborhood or give it identity through community-based arts? Our second interview, in a series featuring some of Charleston’s civic-minded organizations, is with Kate Nevin, Founder of Enough Pie, a non-profit working to do just that (some examples of their work can be seen on our Projects page). A year ago we did not know Kate well but we did share a view from neighboring offices on Upper King Street. Rumor had it that she had loads of ideas, so we reached out and soon discovered an ally and booster of our IYWM concept.
Tell us about Enough Pie’s mission and how that segues with the question of livability in Charleston? Our mission is to build and support a sense of community in Charleston’s Upper Peninsula using a tool set developed as part of the creative placemaking movement in use around the world. EP’s initiatives promote art and cultural activities as a central part of an inclusive and inspiring community. We are a relatively new organization and our earliest efforts in this area focused on developing a homegrown sense of the possibilities in this community – a placesaving strategy where everyone could feel that they had a part to play.
In the intervening two years we’ve been cultivating an arts and cultural framework for this neighborhood, using creative placemaking to catalyze ideas and make things happen. We’ve also found that partnerships – public/private, business/resident, citizen/artist – allow us to leverage more effectively the area’s creative energy into projects that are community-oriented and collectively transformational. These have included pop-ups, art installations, and creative collaborations with a broad range of organizations, such as Meeting Street Academy, Charleston Promise Neighborhood, Historic Charleston Foundation, and many local arts groups. All of these have been free and open to the public.
Our community feels empowered through these efforts to make our neighborhood better. We believe that we can retain the value of its accessibility, affordability, and diversity, and, simultaneously, welcome more like-minded businesses, organizations, and residents. We must continually foster the belief that there is truly “enough pie” for everyone when we think creatively, act deliberately, and practice inclusivity.
And, what if you were Mayor? I would choose an artist as one of my lead advisors. No political science, urban planning or policy experience needed. As to qualifications, I would look for a working artist with an impressive portfolio of community-minded, socially-progressive artwork and installations. Artists have an incredible way of opening us up to different possibilities and alternative ways of seeing. Ultimately artists provide us with better tools for connecting with each other. I would call this position Chief of Community Connectivity. The COCC’s main responsibility would be to take the hairy, messy, complicated issues that vex our City and use the language and perspective of art to find creative and executable solutions.
If you would like to be part of how a community’s sense of place can be enhanced through art and culture, then check out Enough Pie by starting with the projects EP has shared with If You Were Mayor.
This is the first in a series of interviews with the civic-minded organizations that embraced the “If You Were Mayor” concept long before it was a reality. We had a recent conversation with the Lowcountry Local First Executive Director Jamee Haley to discuss her vibrant organization and the future of Charleston.
Tell us about LLF’s mission and how that segues with the question of livability in Charleston? Our mission is to build an economy based on what makes the people and place of Charleston unique – what makes us great – and how that must be protected from the pressures of explosive growth facing the region down the road. We’ve done this by working to maintain and grow the local agricultural economy (SC’s largest industry), and that has naturally led to encouraging the synergy between farmers and local culinary businesses and restaurants; being an advocate for local businesses and farmers; and developing affordable workspace for entrepreneurs. Ultimately, livability depends on thriving local businesses that reflect what makes Charleston special so that people will continue to come here to live, work and play.
And, what if you were Mayor? The challenges of the region’s rampant growth must be seen as an opportunity. We certainly need to protect what makes Charleston great and diverse, and avoid the ill effects of gentrification and commercialized homogenization. Designated local business districts could attract shops like core businesses – hardware stores, shoe repairs shops, or drug stores – that are being driven out of the city center. Areas like the neck and upper peninsula may be more suitable and affordable while still in reasonable proximity to customers.
We should also consider the concept of “anchor institution” for MUSC since it is the region’s largest employer and is a stabilizing presence. It has been noted that some institutions like this actively and successfully engage in community and economic development by identifying economic “leakages” – these then become opportunities for neighborhood revitalization, incubating small businesses and innovating employee ownership models. While the Horizon Project might be one step in this direction, there is obviously still plenty of room for the university to play a significant leadership role in the future of its west side neighborhood within the overall framework of the city.
For Charleston, the challenge seems to be recognizing that while our economy is flourishing, we still have many opportunities for innovation that ensure everyone can benefit from the region’s success.